


There are still a few hours before dawn

by somerandomperson



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 3.23 spoilers, Brotp, Gen, Pre-Slash, Scott and Stiles are Brothers, Season/Series 03 Spoilers, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 21:59:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1363240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somerandomperson/pseuds/somerandomperson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of the battle with the Nogitsune, Derek, Scott, Stiles, the Sheriff and Melissa take a moment to take in what has happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There are still a few hours before dawn

**Author's Note:**

> This was written before 3.24 (the Season 3b finale) and this is just a oneshot, from me thinking about a few of the characters taking a moment in the aftermath of everything that has happened.
> 
> Derek POV.
> 
> very very unbeta'd

Stiles hasn’t stopped shaking. Derek knows that it's only been a few hours since Stiles had worked out that him and the nogitsune version of himself were tied and therefore couldn’t exist independently of each other and had realised that the only way to kill the nogitsune was to kill himself. 

Only a few hours since they had watched the coroner's van take away Allison’s body.

Only a few hours when they had to ignore grief and face an enemy that looks like a friend.

It had only been a few hours but it felt like years, Derek thought as he steps closer to the couch where Stiles’ is sleeping fitfully. Stiles is shaking and he looks exhausted, lying in a tight ball as if he is trying to hold himself together. It just doesn’t look restful, Derek thinks as he crouches by the couch. Derek takes the hot water bottle he’s holding and wedges it between Stiles’ chest and where Stiles’ arms are clenched. He picks up the blanket which is sliding to the floor and tucks it in around Stiles’ body so that he is wrapped up tight.

Derek can’t look at the pale skin pulled tight over cheekbones and the dark shadows under Stiles eyes without the image of Stiles slumped out against the wheels of his jeep eyes staring into middle distance as Scott screamed flashing in front of this eyes. Derek scrubs a hand over his face to dispel the image and presses a quick kiss to Stiles' hair before getting up and walking into the kitchen.

“He still shaking?” the Sheriff is leaning against the counter watching the steady drip of the coffee into the pot.

“yeah” Derek feels the silence creep out around them and he just wants to walk out, walk to somewhere where there is sound and talking enough noise to block out the echo of the crack of Stiles’ ribs as Melissa had performed CPR.

The Sheriff bangs his fist against the surface pulling it at the last moment, to make sure that the sound won’t wake Stiles.

“John” Derek takes a deep breath as the Sheriff finally meets his gaze.

“I know we’ll get through this” John says as he rubs his chest idly “ just...”

Derek nods, though he’s not sure what he’s agreeing to exactly. That everything is fucked up, that Stiles died tonight, that Allison stayed dead, that Scott hasn’t said a word even when Stiles opened his eyes again, that Chris is at the hospital formally identifying his daughter's body, how Lydia couldn’t stop the tears rolling down her face mouth still open in a silent scream when..

The coffee machine beeping interrupts the silence and brings both men from their thoughts. The Sheriff takes a deep breath and grabs the cups from the side filling up the cups. Derek steps forward to take his from the Sheriff and stays close as he watches John stir milk into his cup.

“I spoke to Melissa while I was dropping Lydia off” 

“yeah? how’s Scott?” Derek says

The Sheriff sighs a little “She says it's like he’s catatonic, he’s just sitting in the hall staring at nothing”

Derek takes a big sip of his coffee “that’s not surprising” Derek half shrugs at the Sheriff who tilts his head in response “he lost someone he loved and he nearly lost his brother tonight, it’s a lot to process"

“I think we’re all in shock” the Sheriff turns his cup in his hands “and honestly, I’m not sure I’m actually processing at all. I just want to ignore the fact that my son died and I want to stand and watch him breathe just to see that he’s still here. And I just” the Sheriff shakes himself slightly.

The Sheriffs phone rattles against the counter and he puts down his cup with a sigh “hey Melissa”

Derek watches the Sheriff tap his fingers against the counter as the Sheriff listens to Melissa, using the slight dull sound to focus on so he can tune out Melissa's voice. Derek’s half convinced himself that the Sheriff is unconsciously tapping out the rhythm for Folsom Prison Blues when the mention of his name has him snapping out of his internal humming of the chorus.

“He’s here”

Melissa’s voice sounds like a tinny echo but Derek tries not to focus on it “I’ll bring Scott over then, I think he needs to see Stiles”

The Sheriff nods along “I agree, bring him over, Stiles’ is asleep but he’d want Scott here too”

“Ok then we’ll be over shortly” Melissa agrees

“Ok see you in a bit” The Sheriff looks at his phone for a second after Melissa hangs up before putting it on the counter.

“Melissa thinks Scott needs to see people, particularly Stiles, and not be sat in a room by himself thinking” the Sheriff huffs out two large breaths “you know, when Rafael left Scott only asked a couple of times when his dad was coming home, but he kept sitting in the hallway looking at the front door, I’d take Stiles over and Stiles just sat there with him” the Sheriff picks up his coffee again.

Derek stands there sipping his coffee, watching the Sheriff thinking. Derek himself can't help but think about Scott and Stiles and their little makeshift family with Melissa and John and how it had been so close to being torn apart but somehow here they all were. Something sharp unfurls in Derek's chest from a longing that he tamps down on quickly. Not the time, Derek thinks, this is not about him and it's time for him to leave, to let this family grieve together.

Derek gulps down his coffee and sets his mug in the sink. “I think I’ll see if Chris needs a lift, I’m not sure he should drive, so I’m going to err” Derek gestures towards the door.

The Sheriff looks at Derek for a long moment before shaking his head. “No I’ll go, no offense I have more experience dealing with situations like these”

Derek shrugs slightly, there’s nothing he can think of to respond to that so Derek finds himself looking down at his hands while he rubs them on his jeans Derek before he pushes himself away from the counter to leave. “ok then I’ll check in with Stiles and Scott in a few….”

Derek’s goodbye trails off as a hand grips his shoulder. 

“son” Derek raises his eyes to meet the Sheriff's. 

The Sheriff is giving him a look that makes his heart ache a little, it’s a little bemused and a lot understanding “there’s some cans of soup in the corner cupboard, can you heat up enough for six, I doubt anyone has eaten. Tell Mel that there’s stuff for sandwiches in if she wants to make some. If Stiles wakes don’t wait for me to get back before you all eat, who know when he last ate”.

Derek’s looks at the Sheriff who just grips his shoulder a bit tighter as he waits for Derek to respond. Derek isn’t sure should stay, he’s not part of this but the Sheriff just keeps eye contact as if he’s sure so Derek nods and drops eye contact. The Sheriff grabs his keys off a hook by the door as he walks to the living room and Derek can hear the Sheriff stop next to the couch for a moment before his steps get quieter as he moves out to the hall.

The quiet snick of the door shutting has Derek moving to the doorway between the living room and the kitchen just to watch Stiles chest move up and down.

Derek isn’t sure how long he stands there cataloging each little moment Stiles makes; the occasional flutter of his eye lashes, the way his fingers clench the blanket every now and then. Little signs of life that make something ease in Derek’s chest.

The rumble of an engine and the sudden light from behind the curtains alerts Derek to the arrival of Scott and Melissa. Derek moves to the kitchen and takes cans of soup out of the cupboard and starts searching for a pan.

Melissa and Scott let themselves in and he lets them make their way to him while he opens the cans of soup. Neither Melissa or Scott say anything but they stop in the living room. Probably doing what he was earlier, taking in the details and reassuring themselves that Stiles is still there.

Derek is pushing various buttons on the stove to get it to light when someone enters the kitchen. Light footsteps and the faint waft of perfume indicate Melissa.

“Here” Melissa moves closer and reaches over to press several buttons together and one of the rings lights “it's not logical this stove”.

Melissa rubs his arm gently and gives him a tired half smile. Derek finds himself returning the smile before reaching for the pan and putting it on the stove. Melissa steps back and wraps her arms around herself while Derek pours a can of soup into the pan.

“John said there’s stuff for sandwiches if anyone wants them” Derek says as he adds another can of soup to the pan. Melissa unfolds herself and starts moving around opening cupboards and bring out a chopping board and various food items with the ease of someone familiar to the kitchen.

They work in silence for a while, Derek stirring gently as Melissa assembles enough sandwiches to feed half of beacon hills. Derek has half an ear tuned on the living room noting Scott's random hitches in breath but not really listening in, trying to give Scott some privacy.

A sudden thud has Derek and Melissa moving quickly to the doorway but they both pull up when they see Scott kneeling on the floor by the couch head pressed into Stiles’ shoulder who is half sitting up and gripping Scott hard as Scott's shoulders begin to shake and quiet sobs start. Melissa takes a shaky breath and Derek's takes a quick glance at her and she’s crying silently. She's just letting the tears roll down her face while her son crumples into Stiles. Derek is unsure what to do, he doesn’t really know Melissa but he feels he should do something to comfort her so he brings a hand up slowly and places it very slowly on her shoulder blade. Melissa tenses at the touch and Derek begins to removes his hand but Melissa just lets her shoulders drop and leans into it.

Stiles and Scott just stay holding each other but Stiles looks up at him and Melissa resting his head on the top of Scott's and just looks at them flicking his eyes from Derek to Melissa for a few moments before looking down at Scott again.

Melissa reaches up and squeezes Derek's hand before moving back into the kitchen. Derek stays a moment longer before following Melissa.

Derek is making a fresh pot of coffee while Melissa cuts the sandwiches when Scott comes into the kitchen. Both he and Melissa turn towards Scott and to Derek's surprise Scott walks straight past Melissa and grabs Derek in a tight hug. Although Melissa's eyes are still watery she still snorts at what Derek is sure is a very startled look on his face and she takes the spoon he was using to stir the soup out of his hand so he can carefully put his arms around Scott. Scott just grips him tighter, much tighter than he would be able to do to anyone else and Derek grips just as tight as he feels the prick of claws through his shirt. They stay like that for a few moments until the shuffling sound of Stiles and his blanket entering the kitchen gets Scott to let go to turn and look at Stiles. Stiles still looks terrible, still exhausted and pained but his look is soft and he watches Scott and Derek let go of each other. 

Melissa’s breath catches and both boys move quickly to her and she grabs them both to her, giving them a fierce hug.

“Now boys” Melissa voice is tight but it's coloured with relief. “Food will be ready in a moment so can you grab the chair from the study and bring it into the sitting room and we’ll eat in there”.

Scott moves off quickly while Stiles remains hugging Melissa.

"Dad?” Stiles asks

“He’s gone to take Chris home from the hospital and shouldn’t be too long” Melissa pushes the hair out of Stiles' face before planting a firm kiss on his forehead. 

Derek goes back to stirring the soup as Melissa loads sandwiches on a plate and heads toward the banging scraping sound of Scott moving chairs around. 

Stiles moves to the cupboards and starts taking bowls out.

Derek feels Stiles pause as Stiles collects cutlery and he can feel Stiles watching him. Derek hears the footsteps as Stiles moves to stand next to him. 

A quick glance out of the side of his eye shows Stiles is looking at his back and he feels a warm finger poke through a hole in the back of his shirt.

“Scott?” Stiles asks while his fingers continue to play with the hole in his shirt. 

This close Derek can feel that Stiles is still shaking, he knows that the shaking is nothing to do with cold but Derek still feels the strong desire to hold Stiles close until he stops shaking. He's wanted to do so since he heard the coughing gasp as Stiles’ heart started beating again on the floor of Deaton's clinic. He's wanted to feel Stiles' heart beat up close as the Sheriff grabbed his son as Melissa slumped on the floor staring at her hands and dragging in ragged breaths as she dropped the paddles of the defibrillator. He has wanted to just feel Stiles alive for himself since he drove the Sheriff and Stiles home from Deaton's clinic, both of them clinging together in the back seat.

Derek rests the spoon against the side of the pan and even though he’s not sure that it will be welcome he can’t deny himself a moment to feel Stiles alive and finally safe for himself. Derek slowly turns towards Stiles telegraphing his moves to Stiles so not to startle him and takes a step forward folding himself around Stiles and pulls Stiles gently against himself. The hand that had been playing with the hole in his shirt slides around his back and Stiles’ other hand moves to rest against Derek's heart. Derek finds that he is shaking too as Stiles rests his forehead against Derek's temple and fear burns icy cold through him as thinks how close he came to losing Stiles for good.

In a few minutes the Sheriff will arrive home bringing Chris Argent with him. The Sheriff and Scott will bracket Chris on the couch as the Sheriff gently gets Chris to eat something. Melissa will take the armchair nearest Scott and ply everyone with sandwiches and juice and Stiles will sit on the floor leaning against his father's legs closing his eyes briefly every time his father runs his hand over Stiles’ head. Derek will hand out soup and sit on the random chair next to the Sheriff and Stiles as they all sit and eat. But until then Derek will savour the feeling of the warmth of Stiles’ body against his, the sound of his heart beat, steady and close. 

_They’ll be ok_ Derek thinks, _together, they’ll all be ok._

**Author's Note:**

> As usual this is all the fault of candypinksocks who poked the prompt bunnies so i ended up spending the next few hours at work hiding the fact that i was writing fic. 
> 
> btw I'm sometimeredhead on tumblr


End file.
